Slow Down and Enjoy Life!

I’ve often said that as Americans we are way too busy. It only seems to get worse as time goes on. Each time saving device we add to our collection only serves to make us busier, as we try to accomplish more and more. I read the following today, and thought it was worth the time to share. It’s from an interview with Jennie Allen, author of Nothing to Prove: Why We Can Stop Trying So Hard

I think most of us are running on this treadmill that we don’t even realize is happening, we don’t even realize it’s turned on.

We’re just running every day. I think we notice it most when we’re still, but the problem is even when we’re still, we have a phone pinging us or even just distracting us and causing us to check out rather than self-diagnose or self analyze what’s happening.

. . . even when I was alone with God or just alone, I was performing and executing things that I needed to get done. So because my job is largely talking about God and teaching and writing, whenever I was alone with God I was getting the next thing ready that I was going to deliver rather than actually just enjoying his presence.

So I think what’s happened is everything has become a performance or something to achieve rather than something to enjoy. . . . I feel like as Americans and as young people today that we’re all trying to prove ourselves and we’re exhausted and we’re actually not enjoying the best parts of life.

Like this:

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The third paragraph in the quote, which begins, “even when I was alone,” needs to be read again by everyone in ministry. It is the temptation of all in ministry to do instead of enjoy, to serve God rather than to know him.